California Dreaming
by seriouslyindEe
Summary: Elena Gilbert thinks she's landed the dream job as a journalist in one of California's most popular papers and is starting to believe she can finally start to enjoy her new life. Too bad she's under the watchful eye of her editors son, Damon Salvatore.DxE
1. Big Girls Dont Cry

_And Im gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket,  
but I've gotta get a move on with my life.  
Its time to be a big girl now, and big girls don't cry.  
Fergie- Big Girls Don't Cry._

Chapter One- Big Girls Don't Cry.

"You have to promise to come home every holiday." Jenna sniffled.

Elena laughed and pulled her Aunt in for another hug. "I promise. And I'll even come home if I ever get the chance. Its not like I'll be disappearing off the face of the earth."

Jenna wiped at her nose with the tissue she had stuffed up her sleeve and gave her a forced smile. "Its just gonna be difficult not being able to see your face everyday. Not to mention I won't have any girl time with a houseful of raging male hormones." Her guardian sighed unhappily. "I just hope this is the right decision."

"It is the right decision, Jenna. I have to put the past behind some day right?" Elena smiled as her Aunt released her. "And what better way than to begin my future somewhere Im not reminded of everything that held me back? Don't worry about me."

Jenna snorted and looked up towards the ceiling. "Its not just you Im worried about. Im worried about your brother." She admitted. "He's been having a hard time lately. We all have."

Elena, feeling rather guilty and uncomfortable, decided not to answer. Instead, she let the hem of her favourite white lace eyelet take her attention as she concentrated on the perfect stitch. A car horn honked outside, breaking the silence.  
"That's Matt." Elena breathed out, voice shaky. Uneven, unsure. Truth be told, now her ride to the future was calling, she could hardly tear herself away from the spot she stood in. Jenna made a sound in the back of her throat and dabbed at her eyes with a careful finger so she didn't smudge her mascara. Elena looked at the stairs, hoping to see Jeremy rush down and say goodbye, but another honk from Matt told her she didn't have much time. Before she could even attempt to make a move, Jenna had her enveloped in another hug, the familiar scent of her beloved guardian imprinting itself onto the clothes she wore.

"I love you, 'Lena." Jenna whispered softly into her ear, using the nickname she'd had since she was little. "Jeremy will understand."  
Elena allowed herself a giggle and tried her best to attempt escaping her aunt's hold. "Eventually, anyway." The hairebrained woman corrected herself. "We know how stubborn he can be. But he _will_ come around." Her tone was full of assurance, and like always, Elena didn't doubt it for a second.

"I just feel like I've let him down." Elena sighed, shoulders sinking. "In a way, Its as if Im abandoning him. But its not just that that's hurting him. Its the promise I made and am about to break without a second thought..." She trailed. "No, actually, thats not true." She amended, shaking her head. "I gave this move a lot of thought. And I came to the conclusion that my parents would've wanted me to do this. My mom pushed me in the direction of journalism, and truth be told, I love it. I would be an idiot if I passed it up. Jer just has to accept that. I love him, he knows that. Support is all I can give, and in the past, I've done it all for him."

Jenna sniffled again and smiled sadly, nodding furiously. "Oh, baby. He knows that you'd go to hell and back for him."  
Elena began to open her mouth in reply, but the words forming on her tongue never made an appearance.

"And he'd go to hell and back for you." A gruff, familiar, warm voice floated down the stairs like music to Elena's ears.  
Leaning over the banister with a lopsided grin plastered on his face, Jeremy acknowledged the two women below him with wide brown eyes he had inherited from his beauty of a mother, Miranda, and the mischevious spark that they held, given to him by his braniac of a father, Grayson. "Just don't expect me to like it."

A grin stretched across Elena's features as she hopped up the stairs two at a time, ready to plunge herself into his open arms. For a sixteen year old boy that should've been more interested in video games, he held real, genuine warmth in his heart, and all of it was, and forever would be, focused on Elena and Jenna. They were everything that he had left, and _nothing _concerning them would be impossible. "You don't have to like it, Jer," Elena murmured into his shoulder. "you just have to accept it."

He hung on tighter, feeling every emotion he'd ever kept bottled up come rushing to the surface. As always, his beloved big sister was right, but the stubborn teenager within would never let himself admit it. He'd always been susceptible to change, but loosing his parents and his sister within the space of a year was proving to be too much. He just didn't want the darkness to take over. He feared there would be no-one there to bring him back from the edge. "Can't say I could do that either." He whispered after a moment, chuckling softly. "Your all I have left, Elena. Please, be safe." There. Finally, he said it. It felt as if the burden he'd been carrying for the past few months was being lifted and everything felt lighter.

Elena pulled away, shocked by the sudden display of affection. She knew he loved her, as she did him, but she'd never heard him say it out loud. "I have to do this. You know that, right?" She felt him chuckle again, and the kiss he planted atop her head. He felt the conversation drifting into dangerous, emotional terrirtory, so thinking on his feet, he changed the subject.  
"Just like you had to sneak out junior year to that duke party mom and dad wouldn't let you go to?"  
Elena pulled back and smacked him playfully on the arm. "And I got what I deserved." She amended, smiling fondly at the memory. "Loosing 15 dollars in the process..." She trailed. Jeremy laughed, remembering the night all of Elena's bad girl glory kicked in. Everything had changed now. She had wanted to say 'and lost my parents in the process' instead, but she understood how uncomfortable Jeremy felt and didn't want to make the sweet moment any more awkward than it needed to be. "You had to keep me quiet somehow, huh?" He chuckled.  
"Yeah, but I didn't think I'd have to be bribed. Blackmail is ugly." Elena snickered and reached up to ruffle her brothers hair, but he moved out of dodge, barely escaping her outstretched hand as he skipped two by two down the stairs to where Jenna waited by the door. Matt was beside her, eyeing Elena's suitcases to calculate the chances of getting them all in his truck.

Elena took the stairs at a much slower pace than Jeremy, carefully prolonging the time she just didn't have on her side but wished to God she had more of. Matt smiled up at her warmly, his concerns no longer on the amount of luggage he had to haul outside and into the bed of his truck as she cunningly avoided every creaky spot in each step, just as she had done when she was a little girl. It was a comforting memory, a farewell to her past.  
"Hey," Matt's bright blue eyes bore into Elena's. "You ready?"  
Elena wanted to ask if it was a trick question, but she avoided her snarkiness and forced a smile instead. "As I'll ever be."

Sensing that the Gilbert/Sommer's family needed another few moments, Matt said his goodbyes to Jenna and Jeremy, then stepped outside onto the porch. As soon as they were alone, Elena laughed softly, uncomfortably. "I guess I'd better get going then." Although she didn't mean to, a sad sigh followed it, contradicting the bright smile she wore on her face. Unlike Jeremy, she had _never_ been susceptible to change. It was something she hated and always would. But she just _had _to give her dream a shot. If not for her, for her mothers memory.

Jeremy stayed silent, swaying backwards on the heels of his trainer clad feet whilst Jenna wringed her hands together. Neither of them said anything. They didn't need to. Elena gave them another bright, albeit slightly forced smile before pulling on her jacket and buttoning it up. Winter had made an appearance early this year and the chill to the cold outside was otherworldly. She didn't want to risk getting ill.

"I'll see you soon." With those words, she turned on her heel and opened the front door, feeling strangely odd and frightened. With sickly realisation, she found that it wasn't the door to her house anymore. Once she stepped outside, she'd be a guest everytime she would visit and she didn't know if she could handle that.  
The door closed behind her as she placed a foot onto the porch. Reluctantly, she let her right leg drop with a sigh. There. All it took was two tiny steps to change her life forever.

Matt noticed her and stood up from the porch swing, making his way over to where she was staring at her boots. "To California?" he asked, skeptisism in his eyes as he thrust a sarcastic fist into the air.

Elena took a deep breath and felt herself nodding.

"To California."


	2. Brand New Day

**Sorry I haven't updated earlier, been busy with school work and revision for stoopid amounts of tests coming up.**

**But I hope this was worth the wait. **

**Enjoy!**

**Its a brand new day  
The sun is shining  
Its a brand new day  
And for the first time in such a long, long time,  
I know I'll be okay.  
Joshua Radin- Brand New Day.**

Chapter Two- Brand New Day

"It's okay Im not driving you all the way right?" Matt glanced in his rearview mirror as he switched to the left lane to turn off the intersection.  
Elena yawned loudly, nodding through it. "I didn't expect you to even offer me a lift to the station, Matt." she commended. "Stop worrying. Its fine. _I'll _be fine." She kept her eyes on the road, hoping that he wouldn't spark some conversation where she'd be forced to answer every hard hitting question he had to ask. Since Elena had broken off their relationship after her parents died, every conversation had been strained; too formal, and she didn't like it one bit.

"So where are you gonna be staying while you're there?"

Elena pulled out a roll of paper from her bag and scanned its contents. "This little bed and breakfast called Flowers." She smiled as her eyes ran over the picture again. It was a quaint little building, with honeysuckle growing up the archway of the entrance and a white picket fence circling the property. Arrangements of orchids, poppies and daisies in hand crafted pots adding to the homely look. "Just until I can get on my feet and find my own place." She added hastily, seeing the skeptisism in his bright blue eyes. "Its actually quite cheap. Nothing I can't afford."

This part was true. Her father, Grayson Gilbert, had been Mystic Falls' only doctor, wealthy and popular amongst the locals. Elena and Jeremy had never known what it meant to be without, even after his death.  
"I've been busy scanning the web for apartments to rent," She confided. "But everything's out of my price range."

"What about shared apartments," Matt suggested. "I mean, I know you'd want your own space, but I guess its cheaper."

Elena rolled the idea around her head for a while, wondering why she'd never thought of it. It was a 'kill two birds with one stone' scenario. She'd find a cheap place to stay _and_ maybe make some friends in the process. "Space doesn't compete with cheap," she heard herself saying. "I'll check it out when Im down there. Definitely."

Matt smiled, happy he could be of service, then turned his attention back on the road. Elena sank down into her seat, throwing her jacket over her shoulders as a makeshift blanket and snuggled down, more excited about her move than she had been before. She grinned to herself, listening to Matt tapping his fingers on the steering wheel in time to one of the soft rock songs playing on one of the many radio stations.  
Her eyes drooped when he began to hum along softly, lulling her into sleep, and she gratefully succombed to the darkness, letting it take over completely.

* * *

When Elena awoke, no-one was humming, no soft rock song was playing on the radio, and the night sky had been replaced by the dawning of a new day.

Muscles aching, Elena pulled herself up, squinting to see outside the windscreen. After a few moments of searching for his familiar frame, she found him leaning against the timetable board, arms crossed, brows furrowed as he scanned it.  
Desperate for some fresh air and a good stretch, Elena slipped out of the truck and leant forward, working the aches knotted in her lower back.

"Good morning, sleepy." he grinned as he stalked back towards the truck. "Have a nice sleep?"

Elena yawned in response. "Not really." She sighed. Every bone in her body ached and every tight joint had her contemplating buying some oil from the gas station to grease them up.

"Okay grumpy," he laughed, amused.

"Would you stop naming dwarfes?" She demanded as she rubbed circles on her temple. "Jesus, I have the worst headache..."

Matt's bought of laughter was silenced by the glare she threw his way and he stared at his boots. "How about I get you some coffee," he suggested, "And aspirin."

Elena walked round to the hood of the car and leant back onto it. She nodded gratefully. "That would be great, thank you." she smiled faintly. "And no sugar!" she shouted after him as he headed for the station cafe, the reverberation sending shocks to her brain. She clutched her head again.

By the time he arrived back with their beverages, Elena had climbed back into the car and blasted the heaters. Matt slid in, handing her the black, no sugar coffee she had ordered and a packet of aspirin. She sighed gratefully and popped one into her mouth, swirling it down with a swig of refreshing black liquid. Matt nipped at his own drink, dunking the tea-bag in and out to get the maximum taste.

"I double checked the train times for you. It should be arriving in about 20 minutes, so..." he trailed off, trying to warm his hands up.

Elena shivered slightly from the cold and took another sip of her coffee. "Thank you." she smiled. "For everything, Matt."

He shrugged in response. "I only gave you a ride to the station," he commented. "But your welcome anyway."

They sat in silece for a while, drinking their tea and coffee, just enjoying each other's company, until the hands on the clock slowly crept forward, giving notice that it was time for Elena to leave and for Matt to say his goodbyes.  
He dutifully helped her with her bags to the platform and stood with her until the train could be seen coming down the tracks.

"I guess I'll see you soon, then." Matt smiled sadly, opening his arms for a hug. "Don't get into too much trouble."

Elena snickered, burying her face into the crook of his shoulder. His scent alone bought back so many memories and she felt like crying at the prospect of leaving yet another part of her life behind. "I won't," She sniffled, laughing, before adding sarcastically, "_Dad_."

He chuckled and ended the embrace, pulling back to give her a kiss on the cheek. Like it had done many times before, Elena could no longer feel the spark run through her whenever she came into his contact. At one point in her life, she could see herself having a future with him. She could see kids, a house; her very own slice of the american dream.

But then her parents died, and everything changed. The future she could so cleary visualise dissappeared and somewhere along the way, so did her love for Matt.  
She saw how it tore him up inside just by looking at him. The downward curve of his mouth, the saddened tinge to his crystal blue eyes.

"Just remember," he began. "That if you ever run into any money troubles, or any troubles at all," he clarified. "I'll be here for you."  
Elena felt her heart crack at how sweet and sensitive he was; one of the many attributes to her dying attraction to him and forced a smile. When he began singing the friends theme tune, she burst into laughter. "I'll miss you." she murmured sadly.

Matt bought her in for another hug and landed a kiss on her head. "I'll miss you too." he rasped in response. "Now get going or Im not gonna be the only thing you'll miss. Everyone's boarding the train exept you."

Elena broke away, watching as the last of the passengers jumped on board. Hurriedly, she clutched her suticases, and dragged them along behind her as she ran to one of the door's. "Hold it, please!" Matt heard her holler to the ticket collector. "Im coming!"

Matt watched as the tall, bald man helped her haul her luggage onto the train and waited until the horn blew, signalling the beginning of the journey. As he turned to leave, he heard his name being called.

"I'll be home soon, Matt!" Elena shouted out an open window. "Tell Jenna and Jer that I love them!"

Once her luggage had been stored, Elena searched through the carriages for a seat. Every single one she peeked into was full, until she came to the end of the row. Much to her surprise, only one passenger was sat inside, reading a dog eared, battered copy of one of the classics she herself loved to read.

She slid open the door and peered inside, flashing a small smile. "Hey," she began uncomfortably. "Everywhere else is full, would you mind if I-" The stranger cut her off, waving her inside with his book. "Please," He smiled back, mesmorizing her with his set of straight white teeth and bright green eyes. "Be my guest."

Elena slipped inside, taking a seat on the opposite side to the dazzling stranger. He carried on scanning the yellowing pages before him for a moment, before he closed the book and focused his attention on her.

"Hey, my name's Stefan. You are?" His voice was husky, velvety smooth and undeniably, completely heart stopping. Elena gathered her thoughts before she even attempted a reply.

"My name's Elena." she held out a hand for him to shake, only realising it had been a mistake when he took it. An electric shock ran through her body upon impact and she quickly drew away, much to his surprise.

"Well," he rolled the word around his tongue. "Its nice to meet you, Elena."

Although she shouldn't have been thinking it, she loved the way he said her name. Suddenly, she was thanking her lucky stars that she'd almost missed the train. If she hadn't been the last one to board, she would've been sat with other, stuffy strangers that weren't this beautiful man before her.

"So where are you headed?"

For a moment, Elena wondered if she should tell him, every horror movie about stalkers she had watched flashing through her mind. Shaking bad thoughts away, she smiled. "California. Long beach to be exact."

Stefan grinned widely as he processed the news. "I live down there." he explained. "In one of the little beach houses."

Elena's mouth hung open in surprise and she quickly snapped it shut. "Wow, that- thats amazing. How long have you lived down there?" She watched as he shrugged, contemplating the years in his head.  
"9 years." He replied. "Yep. Moved down there when I was 10 with my folks."

"I can't imagine what It would've been like to grow up on the beach." Elena gushed. "Waking up to a view like that every morning... wow."

"Your right," Stefan agreed, smiling that heart stopping smile again. "Everything down there is absoloutely beautiful. Everyone I know falls in love at first sight. I don't have any doubt that you will either."

"Your probably right," Elena smiled. "Im a sucker for a view."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Stefan watching Elena whilst Elena watched the surroundings zip by. Then: "Where are you staying down there?"

Elena's eyes broke away from the outside world and she was automatically sucked into his dazzling green eyes again. "A little bed and breakfast called Flowers." It came out like a question even though it wasn't intended. She watched as those same dazzling green eyes widened, wondering what it was she had said. "You know it?" She asked.

Stefan ran a hand through his styled locks of light brown hair. "Yeah," he laughed throatily. "I know it. Look, I know you've only just met me and this is really weird, but I have a room to rent at the beach house and I've been looking forever for someone to fill it,"

"Um," Elena began uncomfortably. "Er, I don't know what to say."

"Say whatever you want, Im not putting any pressure on you."

Elena wringed her hands together, biting her lip in contemplation. She wanted so desperately to say yes, remembering Matt's advice, but she didn't know him at all. For all she knew, he could ride trains all day, trying to pick up girls as housemates before gruesomely murdering them. "Its a lovely offer," she heard herself start to decline. "But Im gonna have to pass it up."

Stefan smiled non the less and leant back into his seat. "That's okay. But listen," he began pulling out a piece of paper from his jeans pocket and dug out a pen from his satchel. He scribbled something down hastily and Elena craned her neck to see. Once he was finished, he held it out for her to take. She looked at it doubtfully, before he set her mind at ease. "Just in case you change your mind."

On it, he had written:

Stefan.S

Train stranger.

555-0125

1864 Thor's lane. Long Beach, California.

"That's really nice of you," Was her response. "Thank you."

Stefan shrugged nonchantly, and sank back into his seat. Elena couldn't stop smiling. She hadn't even arrived in California yet and things were already going well for her. She watched as Stefan went back to his book, so to pass the time, she pulled out her diary from her carry on and scribbled the date into the top right corner.

Dear Diary, she wrote.

Turns out I was wrong, taking the train down to California proved to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. First few minutes of the ride, I made a new friend; Stefan. S. Train stranger. The fact that he is greek-god like adds to the appeal.  
Being offered a place to stay was amazing. He lives on the beach, literally. Turning it down wasn't so great, but it seemed horror movieish, so idiotically, I declined. Somewhere in my mind, I know it was the right choice. But why do I have this niggling feeling?

Elena.

**Hit me up with a review and make my day! I'll love you forever!**

**SeriouslyindEe**


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